Sagamore Hill Welcomes 4th Grade Students Through Every Kid In a Park Initiative

Tom Gould

News Release Date: September 12, 2015

Contact: Martin Christiansen, [phone]

Oyster Bay, N.Y. –Sagamore Hill National Historic Site invites all 4th grade students to visit the park for free as part of the White House's new Every Kid in a Park program. Starting today, 4th grade students can now go to www.everykidinapark.gov to complete an activity and obtain a free annual entry pass to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including national parks.

"During the National Park Service's centennial celebration, we want everyone to get to know their national parks, and we're offering a special invitation to fourth graders and their families to discover everything that national parks offer," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. "We hope these free passes for fourth graders will introduce 4th graders, their classes, and families to our national treasures, places where they can run and play, explore and learn." 

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site encourages all fourth graders and their accompanying adults tour Theodore Roosevelt's Home and enjoy the grounds, take part in a ranger-led activity, and participate in Junior Ranger programs. Junior Ranger programs are designed to educate and stir the desire to learn more about the park through several activities in the Junior Ranger booklets available at the Old Orchard Museum and Visitor Center. After completing the various exercises a certificate and patch will be awarded! Most of the 407 other National Park Service sites also offer Junior Ranger programs.

To receive their free pass for national parks, fourth graders can visit the Every Kid in a Park website and play a game to access their special Every Kid in a Park pass. Fourth graders and their families can then use this pass for free entry national parks and other federal public lands and waters across the country from September 1st, 2015 through August 31, 2016. The website also includes fun and engaging learning activities aligned to educational standards, trip planning tools, safety and packing tips and other important and helpful information for educators and parents. 

In addition to providing every fourth grader in America a free entry pass for national parks and federal public lands and waters, fourth grade educators, youth group leaders and their students across the country will also participate in the program through field trips and other learning experiences. 

The goal of the Every Kid in a Park program is to connect 4th graders with the great outdoors and inspire them to become future environmental stewards, ready to preserve and protect national parks and other public lands for years to come. The program is an important part of the National Park Service's centennial celebration in 2016, which encourages everyone to Find Your Park. 

Every Kid in a Park is an administrative-wide effort, launched by President Obama, and supported by eight federal agencies, including the National Park Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Education, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.